Maybe I'm in the minority on this one, but anybody else think people are underrating Barkley?

I would blame USC's bad year on Lame Kitten more than anyone. I always felt Kitten made him worse.

I've heard this whole arm strength thing, but I've seen him launch some really deep balls. Also heard because he is a "USC" guy people are worried about the prima donna atitutde. He is much like RW3 in this regard...nothing to worry about IMO. Also not fair to say other USC QBs haven't panned out. Palmer did well in his career, some others not as well, but they still in the L. Is there any school that puts out more QBs than SC? Barkley has a great mental makeup.

You are in the minority, but I agree with you. Barkley's 2012 season was much closer to his 2011 season statistically than most realize, especially when you break it down into smaller parts.

I think what's hurting Barkley is every NFL team wants the next RG3 or Wilson. The traditional pocket QB is seeing his stock plummet right now. I'm sure there will be a correction down the road, but teams are in full knee-jerk mode this offseason.

Arm strength seems to be one of the main questions about Matt. Peter King indicated that Matt feels his arm will actually be stronger after he finishes rehab than it was before he got hurt. His pro day performance is probably going to affect his draft stock for some teams, especially if he looks really good (or really bad).

I think some version of west coast offense probably suits him best because he's never going to have a gun of an arm. Plus he's a cerebral type QB.

sc85sis wrote:Arm strength seems to be one of the main questions about Matt. Peter King indicated that Matt feels his arm will actually be stronger after he finishes rehab than it was before he got hurt. His pro day performance is probably going to affect his draft stock for some teams, especially if he looks really good (or really bad).

I think some version of west coast offense probably suits him best because he's never going to have a gun of an arm. Plus he's a cerebral type QB.

Ive never understood the argument that he has a weak arm. Maybe I'm not the guru some others are, but Ive never saw it as an impediment to him being a great QB...maybe its not elite, but definitely don't see it as weak...maybe average?

Just curious...who is a good example of arm strength in this class? Bray? He seems to sling it around like nobody's business...

I agree on the cerebral thing...I feel he is very similar to RW3 on that.

Barkley is unfairly getting beat up. He's nothing (character) like other USC QBs. Not in hot tubs with chicks (Leinart), doesn't have alleged sexual assault issues (Sanchez). He's busy doing charitable work. He just happens to also go to USC. Guilt by association if you will.

Physically, he's more than capable. In the world of video games, he's a QB that doesn't excite people. Average arm, mobility, stature, but a really heady player. I don't think he's a franchise guy in the sense of single handedly winning games, but I think he can be a very good starting QB (Schaub like). I think he's a first rounder, but I wouldn't feel great about a top 5 pick on him. That said, Matt Ryan wasn't a physical marvel and look at the Dolphins compared to the Falcons. Maybe it is better to go get your QB.

I haven't seen all that much of him interview wise, but i just saw the "15 minute interview" he had with Mooch on nfl network. Gotta say, wasn't very impressed. Kinda seemed dumb like a bag of rocks. He was the exact opposite of RW on the white board. Lots of uhhh.... Ummmm..... Whaa? Whereas Russ was like "bing bang boom, X Y this that and then some". Just riffin with Gruden. It came so natural. It just flowed out of him like he didn't even need to think about it. Barkley just sounded kinda dim whitted in comparison.

Maybe dude was just tired, but any comparisons to our Russell are very misplaced IMO.

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I think it's 'cool' to knock the USC quarterback. A lot of people jumped on the bandwagon in the media, a lot of the 'draftnik' types who obsess over everything on Twitter and bang on about making $1000 bets with people that Tyler Wilson will be the #1 pick (LOL).

The fact is, crappy coaching + losing your left tackle to the NFL + losing your center to injury = hard to be perfect. Throw in one of the worst defenses in college football forcing you to play from behind, and I'm not sure what people expected. He puts up 50+ points versus Oregon, and the Ducks get 60+ points.

There's enough tape out there to see a solid, starting QB. And he'll be a first round pick.

theENGLISHseahawk wrote:I think it's 'cool' to knock the USC quarterback. A lot of people jumped on the bandwagon in the media, a lot of the 'draftnik' types who obsess over everything on Twitter and bang on about making $1000 bets with people that Tyler Wilson will be the #1 pick (LOL).

The fact is, crappy coaching + losing your left tackle to the NFL + losing your center to injury = hard to be perfect. Throw in one of the worst defenses in college football forcing you to play from behind, and I'm not sure what people expected. He puts up 50+ points versus Oregon, and the Ducks get 60+ points.

There's enough tape out there to see a solid, starting QB. And he'll be a first round pick.

I'm not thinking that Barkley's going to be Mark Sanchez 2.0 by any stretch, but I don't really see a Payton Manning/Jim Kelly/Russell Wilson* style cerebral assassin type of quarterback. He'll very likely get drafted quite high, likely in the 1st round (no way he gets past Arizona and their shit show at QB), and will likely go on to have a pretty good career. I just don't see him going on to do great things unless he gets surrounded by a great team and goes along for the ride. He doesn't strike me as a "put da team on da back do" kinda guy. But that's just my impression of him from a relatively small sample size; I don't profess to have watched a ton of his work.

*how freaking great is it to have a QB that you can compare directly to Jim Kelly and Payton fricken Manning and hot have to add a sarcasm smiley.

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Matt has put USC on his back on and off the field since the sanctions came down between his freshman and sophomore years. Pete left, the program got nailed and everyone looked to this kid to lead the program. He handled it all with grace and maturity.

All you need to know about him is how his teammates view him. They have been critical and said he's not that good. IMHO, with that being the case it shows he doesn't have "it", like Wilson has. If college teammates didn't respect him, what makes you think NFL men will.

gmor wrote:[quote="Veilside"]I still feel like Barkley is going to be the best QB from this class. I think KC, JAX and BUF are all going to regret it if they pass on him.

Agreed. He's going to do well in the NFL, just as he's done at every other level.

Same as all USC QB's have done.

I really don't like that argument. What does Matt Lienart have to do with Matt Barkley? Nothing, they are two completely different people and players.[/quote]

It's valid because it's not just Leinart. It's a whole line up. They have all had far superior weapons around them then 95% of yhe guys lined up across from. There is a pattern. I do acknowledge the defense was responsible for most of this seasons woes.

I have been a nay sayer of Barkley since way before this year. I don't think he has the edge. I dont think he is one to take a shot. The fact that the post game "brawl" was centered around his leadership doesn't speak well for him either.